As tides crash into miles of brown sand, rows of brightly painted houses cling to their crumbling foundations.
Sitting along the world’s largest bay, on India's eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal, the eerie ghost village of Podampeta was once a bustling, prosperous fishing community.
But now, the houses in the eastern state of Odisha are a testimony to widespread devastation caused by climate change.
They have long been abandoned, their walls cracked and collapsing, in the village that stands less than 200 metres from the shore.
Name plates still hang outside the neatly painted entrances. Inside the homes, tattered clothes and slippers are scattered across the floors, remnants of their former owners.
The village, once home to 1,500 inhabitants, has rapidly been damaged since 2007 by land erosion and the intruding sea.
Of 500 families, only 11 members of two families remain.
Jaya Rajamma is one of them.
The 65-year-old mother of four lives with her two daughters, both in their thirties, and her husband, a former fisherman.
“As a child, the sea was my favourite place. But now I am scared of it,” Ms Rajamma told The National, sitting outside her small two-bedroom house with her granddaughter.
“In the day, I keep looking at it and its waves to stay vigilant, but at night I prefer not to look at it. I am scared that it will come and swallow me and my family,”
The fishermen used to enjoy a prosperous life – there was fish in abundance and a good catch meant good sales in the market, Ms Rajamma said.
But the sea levels started rising and the water flooded the village. High tides destroyed houses.
The state government relocated the residents to another village about five kilometres away and provided them each with a one-bedroom house under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project.
Ms Rajamma's two sons, both married, received the new accommodation but she says she cannot move in with them.
“The house is small and my daughters will not have enough space there. We have nowhere to go,” she said.
Odisha is one of the Indian states worst affected by climate change.
Its coastline stretches 480 kilometres along the Bay of Bengal – the hotbed of tropical cyclones that batter its districts, along with other extreme climate events such as storms and flooding.
Eight out of the world's 10 deadliest tropical cyclones have originated over the bay, according to a list by Weather Underground.
The state's population of 47 million has endured 10 cyclones in the past two decades, including super cyclones that have killed tens of thousands and displaced millions living along the coastline.
Natural disasters have increased three-fold in the state between 1970 and 2019, according to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a Delhi-based policy research institution.
Odisha was devastated by the Great Orissa Cyclone in 1999 which killed 10,000 people.
Experts say the frequency and intensity of cyclones have escalated through the 2000s.
A study paper published in the journal Spatial Information Research in June 2018 found that about 196km of Odisha’s shoreline has undergone erosion between 1990 and 2015.
One of the main reasons is rising sea levels.
A paper published in Applied Ecology and Environmental Research in 2022 found that sea levels along Odisha have risen by 9.5cm between 1966 and 2015.
Sarat Chandra Sahu, director of the Centre for Environment and Climate at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan university in state capital Bhubneswar, said low depression in the sea due to climate change combined with factors such as soil condition and topography make the area prone to erosion.
“Odisha is experiencing cyclones throughout the year, even in December. It is because of climate change,” Mr Sahu told The National.
“The temperature of the sea is increasing, which is causing the formation of low-pressure areas in the sea.” he said. “The wind speed has increased to 35-45kph and wind blows along the coast, which may cause erosion.”
Low pressure happens when the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of its surroundings. It develops when warm and moist air rises from the earth’s surface. The system leads to more unstable and unpredictable weather patterns such as heavy storms.
Pratap Mohanty, an oceanographer from the Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University who has been studying erosion along Odisha’s coast for more than two decades, says that maximum erosion along the eastern coast is natural but is increasing due to climate change.
“We have been surveying the Odisha coast for more than 20 years and what we see is the shoreline change or the erosion are due to three factors – the cyclonic storm, approach of the waves that break on the shore and the coastal structure such as ports,” Mr Mohanty said.
For the displaced, the emotional loss of leaving their ancestral homes comes as they bear the brunt of climate change on their livelihoods.
Chandragiri Shyam, 30, a fisherman who moved to the new colony in 2019 with his three children, said his life changed after he was forced to relocate.
“I was born in this house. It was a beautiful village, there was sea, there were fish,” Mr Shyam said.
“This house was big. Now where I live, the house is small. There is no sea either. We have to go deep inside the sea to scour fish. I do not like it but at least, there is no water that will swallow us,” he said.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
RESULTS
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Saturday, July 8
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court (4pm)
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Timea Bacsinszky (19)
Ernests Gulbis v Novak Djokovic (2)
Mischa Zverev (27) v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 (4pm)
Milos Raonic (6) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (25)
Anett Kontaveit v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Jared Donaldson
Court 2 (2.30pm)
Sorana Cirstea v Garbine Muguruza (14)
To finish: Sam Querrey (24) leads Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-5
Angelique Kerber (1) v Shelby Rogers
Sebastian Ofner v Alexander Zverev (10)
Court 3 (2.30pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Dudi Sela
Alison Riske v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
David Ferrer v Tomas Berdych (11)
Court 12 (2.30pm)
Polona Hercog v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Gael Monfils (15) v Adrian Mannarino
Court 18 (2.30pm)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Lesia Tsurenko
Petra Martic v Zarina Diyas
ASSASSIN'S%20CREED%20MIRAGE
%3Cp%3E%0DDeveloper%3A%20Ubisoft%20Bordeaux%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Ubisoft%0D%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20Series%20S%26amp%3BX%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900